Calling all open government, journalism and data geeks. Please join Sunlight and friends in a bicoastal hackathon on the campuses of Stanford University and Columbia University on Feb 2-3, 2013. Registration is now open.

Together, we will tackle how to create apps and sites that show what 2012’s political spending spree will mean for policy in 2013 and beyond.

Do you write code or work with data? Do you want to learn how or enhance your skills? Join us to mine data for stories and visualizations that will help understand how money affects the issues that Congress and state legislatures will be taking up this year. Showcase your skills and knowledge and compete to win prizes.

When you register, be sure to start brainstorming ideas you’d like to cover and vote up your favorite suggestions. We’ve suggested some potential hot topics for project ideas and collaboration to get you started, but encourage you to add your ideas. At the Datafest, we’ll provide data, APIs, resources and expert help. You don’t need to be a coder to join in the fun – I can personally attest that it’s just as helpful to have people who can research, write, design and help make apps user-friendly.

Don’t worry if you c an’t get to New York City or Palo Alto. We’ll use Sunlight Live to create a video bridge that will allow anyone to join virtually from a computer screen anywhere. You can interact with participants in both sites via live chat while watching a stream of the event. Hope to see you there!